6 Types Of Food That Are Making You Constipated
If your toilet time is on a time-out, consider cutting these things from your diet until the pipes clear.
There’s nothing sexy about constipation. It can cause bloating and abdominal pain, not to mention make going number two literally a pain in the you-know-what. According to the
American Journal of Gastroenterology, it affects about 42 million people in the U.S. alone. “While no single food is the direct cause of constipation, diets low in fiber and water are most commonly associated with being stopped up, whereas a higher fiber diet and adequate hydration can keep your digestion regular,” says registered dietician and nutritionist Jessica Fishman Levinson of
Nutritioulicious. That said, certain foods can contribute to keeping your bowels from doing their job, while others get a bum rap. We’ve sorted out the real constipation culprits from the posers so you can get things moving again—and keep 'em that way.
Hitting the drive-thru can put the brakes on your bowels. Those burgers and fries on fast-food menus are almost always low in fiber and high in fat. “They can take longer to empty from the stomach,” warns Leslie Bonci, MPH, RDN, CSSD, registered dietitian and sports dietetics specialist of
Active Eating Advice. They're also often high in sodium, which can prevent water from pushing through waste.
Cheese, ice cream, and milk get a lot of slack for stopping you up, but dairy isn’t all bad. Immunoglobin G (IgG) is a type of milk protein that has been tied to constipation, so skipping the cheese plate could be a good thing if you’re overdue for a number two. But dairy like yogurt and kefir contain probiotics—the healthy gut bacteria that can keep you regular.
That pastry case at your local café may look tempting, but highly processed foods like cookies and other baked goods get three strikes when it comes to constipation. “They’re high in fat, low in fiber, and low in fluid,” says Levinson. Better bets: high-fiber desserts like a bowl of
raspberries, baked pears, or even a date-oat bar.
Confections often get lumped into the constipation foods category, but it’s not the Sour Patch Kids and Pixy Stix that stop you up, per say. “Sugar itself does not cause constipation, but since many foods high in added sugars are low in fiber and other nutrients, eating too many of these foods in place of high fiber foods could lead to constipation,” warns Levinson.
Ripe bananas are a good source of fiber and potassium, which can help fend off constipation, but unripe bananas get a thumbs down. The green kind are higher in starch and tannins, which give them that bitter taste, and can both cause and aggravate constipation.
Yes, caveman eating shuns junk food in favor of whole foods (check!), but a meat-heavy diet without fiber-filled
whole grain foods or legumes could leave you constipated. “Plus, limiting the carbs in Paleo may mean decreased ingestion of prebiotics, the fermentable carbohydrates that are food for probiotics,” adds Bonci.
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